Report: Cross-Border Demand for Aussie Goods to Treble in Five Years

eBay Inc. has released new research revealing that Australian sellers are leveraging eBay’s online marketplace to significantly increase cross-border trade.

Despite the country’s remoteness and fluctuating dollar, findings from eBay Inc.’s report, Commerce 3.0: Enabling Australian Export Opportunities, show that eBay sellers Down Under are embracing their ability to trade overseas. Seventy-eight percent eBay businesses are exporting.

“The Internet has torn down barriers for Aussie SMEs [small to medium enterprises] looking for customers beyond the domestic market,” said Sassoon Grigorian, Head of Policy at eBay Inc. APAC. The report was released at a recent event hosted by the Committee of Economic Development in Australia, or CEDA. (Watch video highlights of the event.)

Some of the report’s key findings:

Export share through eBay.com.au grew from 60 percent to 79 percent from 2006 to 2012.

78 percent of eBay commercial sellers export, and that figure increases to 97 percent for those with sales of AU$100,000 or more.

Australian eBay sellers with export sales of AU$10,000 or more export to 28 destinations on average.

For Australian SMEs, the findings represent enormous opportunities. Upon the release of the report, Austrade CEO Bruce Gosper said cross-border demand for Australian goods looked likely to treble in the next five years. “Now is the time for Australian businesses to look hard at e-commerce for exporting,” he said.

The report estimates that eBay commercial sellers in Australia employ up to 50,000 people, which is more than major Australian companies such as Westpac, one of the top banks; Telstra, the largest telecommunications company; and global mining giant BHP Billiton.

“Having invested heavily in its ecommerce platform, eBay will work in partnership with retailers to leverage still more international trade opportunities”, said Tim MacKinnon, Head of Merchant Solutions at eBay Australia.

“We’re lowering trade costs and providing sellers with a secure channel to sell to eBay’s 100 million active consumers worldwide,” he told the audience at CEDA.

Commerce 3.0 follows the July release of the PayPal report Modern Spice Routes, which revealed that cross-border demand for Australian goods will grow from AU$5 billion in 2013 to more than AU$16 billion by 2018.

Top photo, left to right: David A. O’Connor, managing director, All Things Australian Pty Ltd.; Tim Mackinnon, head of merchant solutions, eBay; Paul Greenberg, CEO, National Online Retailers Association; Dr. Simon Schropp, senior international economist, Sidley Austin; Bruce Gosper, CEO, Austrade; and Andrew Mohl, chairman, Australian Export Finance and Insurance Corporation. They were addressing a panel discussion hosted by the Committee of Economic Development in Australia (CEDA).